Lashing socket cover

ABSTRACT

A removable cover for a shipboard lashing socket that provides a generally cruciform access opening flush with the deck. The cover has a plate which totally covers the cruciform opening and the underside of which has a locator that fits into one leg of the opening and prevents rotation. A central housing portion on the underside of the plate has opposed, horizontal bores each containing a rotatable ball detent, a retainer, a ball seat and a spring biasing the seat and ball detent to its protruding position. The ball detents in an installed cover latchingly engage the lower edge of the flush deck portion of the socket between adjacent legs of the cruciform opening.

United States Patent Caron Dec. 23, 1975 LASHING SOCKET COVER 3,796,4043/1974 Shields 248/361 A [75] Inventor: Norman 0. Caron, Braintree,Mass.

Primary Examiner-Roy D. Frazier 1 Asslgnee! Genfiral DynamlcsCorporation, Assistant Examiner-Robert A. Hafer LOUIS Attorney, Agent,or Firm-Fitch, Even, Tabin & 22 Filed: June 17, 1974 Luedeka [21] Appl.No.: 479,661 [57] ABSTRACT A removable cover for a shipboard lashingsocket that (g1; l05/4A7652;B5/52/(2)(l) provides a generally cruciformaccess Opening fl h 1 Field of Search U /3 361 R, 1 19 with the deck Thecover has a plate which tota 1y cov References Cited UNITED STATESPATENTS Zarobsky 105/366 C Zarobsky 292/74 Walker 52/221 Gaus et a1 l248/27 Donalson 210/163 ers the cruciform opening and the underside ofwhich has a locator that fits into one leg of the opening and preventsrotation. A central housing portion on the underside of the plate hasopposed, horizontal bores each containing a rotatable ball detent, aretainer, a ball seat and a spring biasing the seat and ball detent toits protruding position. The ball detents in an installed coverlatchingly engage the lower edge of the flush deck portion of the socketbetween adjacent legs of the cruciform opening.

3 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures LASI-HNG SOCKET COVER This invention relatesto lashing sockets for shipboard use to secure aircraft, vehicles andthe like, and more particularly to covers for such sockets.

It is, of course, necessary to tie down objects having any considerableweight when they are carried aboard ship; otherwise the natural pitchand roll of the ship on the open seas would cause shifting of suchobjects that would likely result in damage to the object itself, as wellas potential damage to the structure of the ship. Various types oflashing-sockets are presently provided in the decks of ships for thispurpose. However, the holes in the decks which result from theinstallation of such lashing sockets create collection points for waterand for trash and are also considered to be a safety hazard to personnelwho may trip by catching a toe in such a hole. Attempts have been madeto provide covers for shipboard lashing sockets, but to date, suchcovers have not resisted inadvertent removal under impact of vehicles orwhen subjected to helicopter airwash and- /or wave action upon theflooding of the decks.

It is the object of the present invention to provide improved covers forshipboard lashing sockets. Another object is to provide an easilyinstallable cover for shipboard lashing sockets which will stay in placeand resist inadvertent removal. A further object of the invention is toprovide a cover for shipboard lashing sockets which will resist theentry of water even in the form of wave action, flooding and hosepressure. These 'and other objects of the invention will be apparentfrom the following detailed description ofa preferred embodiment of theinvention, particularly when read in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a bottom view of an improved lashing socket cover embodyingvarious features of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary view of a vehicle lashing socket installed inthe deck of a ship;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the cover shown in FIG. 1, taken alongline 3--3 thereof;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the lashing socket of FIG. 2, shown with aportion of a lashing hook depicted in phantom; and

FIG. 5 is a sectional view enlarged in size taken generally along line5-5 of FIG. 2 with the cover of FIG. I inserted in the lashing socket.

Depicted in the drawings is a lashing socket cover 9 that is designed tofill and plug a lashing socket 11 of the design depicted in FIG. 2.Although the socket is sometimes hereinafter referred to as a vehiclelashing socket, it should be understood that it might be used to tiedown any objects. As best seen perhaps in FIGS. 4 and 5, the lashingsocket 11 is formed from a body portion 13 having the shape of a shallowbowl and a disk 15 that is suitably attached, as by welding, to theshallow bowl portion. The socket 11 is designed to be suitably installedin a circular hole cut in the metal deck 17 of a ship, wherein it may beaffixed as by weldmg.

In the illustrated embodiment, the socket disk 15 is formed with acentral cut-out or access opening of cruciform or four-leaf clover-likedesign 19 which provides four lobes 21 arranged at 90 orientation to oneanother which are separated by projections 22. The central portion ofthe cruciform opening 19 is enlarged in size by appropriately roundingthe projections, so as to provide a central opening of a greaterdimension 2 than any of the individual lobes 21. The socket 11 isdesigned for use with lashing hooks 23 (see FIG. 5) having enlargedheads 25 which will fit through the enlarged central opening and thenbecome entrapped when the hook is moved into one of the lobes 21, asillustrated in FIG. 4.

The cover 9 is formed of a design complementary to the cruciform opening19, which it closes, but of slightly larger dimension so as tocompletely overlie the opening and extend a short distance outward ofthe periphery thereof in all directions. Generally, the cover 9 has amain, flat plate section 31 which is X-shaped and carries dependingprojections that extend into the socket opening 19 and cooperatetherewith for retaining the cover 9 in place. Although otherconstructions might be used, the cover 9 is usually made as a casting sothat the projections in question are formed integrally with the mainplate section 31. More specifically, the cover 9 includes a centralkeeper section 33 plus a pair, of arcuate, locator projections 35 whichare proportioned to fit within the rounded ends of a pair of oppositelydisposed lobes 21 in the socket access opening. In addition, each of thefour arms of the X-shaped cover 9 is provided with a reinforcing rib 37which extends radially outward from the central keeper section.

The keeper section 33 includes a housing 39 which is generally cruciformin shape, although it could have any other suitable shape, for instance,round, because it is proportioned to fit within the central portion ofthe access opening 19. The keeper housing contains four horizontal bores41 each oriented at to one another. Each of the bores 41 carries a balldetent 43 which is designed to hold the cover 9 tightly in place in thelashing socket 11 once it has been installed.

In this respect, each of the bores 41 is located at an angle of 45 tothe central ribs 37, which are aligned with the legs of the X-shapedplate 31; and thus, the bores 41 each face one of the rounded inneredges of the projections 22. As shown in FIG. 5, each of the balldetents 43 is part of a spring-loaded unit that can be press fit intothe bore 41 of the keeper housing. Each of these units includes acylindrical casing 45 and a compression spring 47 which fit around therear end of a ball seat 49. This seat 49 has a concave front surfacewhich is matched to the curvature of the ball detent 43 and is entrappedin the unit by folding or crimpingthe front end of the casing 45slightly inward after the spring, seat and ball are installed.

As best seen in FIG. 1, the underside of the flat plate section 31 isformed with a shallow groove 51 that extends around the completeperiphery of the X- shaped plate. The shallow peripheral groove 51 ispositioned so that, when the cover 9 is installed in the socket 11, itwill lie just outward of the outline of the cruciform access opening 19.Preferably, a gasket 53 of silicone rubber, or the like, is located inthe shallow groove 51 prior to installation of the cover. The gasket 53may be formed-in-place by using a product such as Silmate, a liquidsilicone rubber marketed by GE, and it is intended to assure awater-tight seal which is created about the entire periphery of theaccess opening 19.

The cover 9 is easily installed by aligning the X- shaped plate portionwith the cruciform access opening 19 of the socket so that the arcuatelocators 35 are received within the curved ends of a pair of oppositelobes 21. When so aligned, the cover is pressed downward into place,forcing the ball detents 43 inward against the springs 47 as the detentsengage and move downward past the upper curved edges of the socketprojections 22. The ball detents 43 are preferably made of arust-resistant material, such as stainless steel, and the possibility ofbinding is obviated because the balls rotate easily in the concave seats49 as the cover is forced downward. Once the cover 9 has been pressedinward to its full depth, the ball detents 43 snap back outward, biasedby the compression springs 47, into contact with the undersurface of theprojections 22 (as shown in FIG. 5), latching the cover 9 securely inplace.

The weight of the cover 9, plus the force provided by the fourcompression springs 47, compress the gasket sealant 53 located in theshallow groove 51, and thus provide a tight seal about the entireperiphery. The cover 9 will stay in place and seal the access opening inthe socket 11 against entry of water even after subjected to heavy waveaction or flooding to a substantial depth, or to propeller wash of ahelicopter, or to the impact of heavy vehicles that may be repeatedlymoved over such sockets on the deck of a ship where vehicle traffic mayoccur frequently.

When a socket 11 is needed for use in tying down an object, the cover 9is removed by means of access notches 57 provided in the underside ofthe plate portion 31 of the cover. The notches 57 are located outward ofthe groove 51 at the junctions between the legs of the X-shaped plateand provide clearance in this region above the surface of the deck forthe insertion of the tip of a screwdriver, or the like, which can beused to easily pry the cover from its installed position.

Modifications may be made to the illustrated embodiment as would beobvious to one having the ordi nary skill in the art, and suchmodifications are considered as coming within the scope of the inventionwhich is defined by the claims appended hereto. For example, rather thanemploy four spring-loaded ball detents, a pair of oppositely disposeddetents may be used to achieve the desired objective of the invention.

Various of the features are set forth in the claims which follow.

What is claimed is:

l. A removable cover for a shipboard lashing socket having a flush deckportion wherein a generally cruciform access opening is provided havingfour lobes the outer ends of which are arcuate and having a bottom 4portion of generally bowl-like shape which is attached along itsperiphery to said deck portion, which cover comprises a plate portion ofdimension greater than said cruciform access opening which totallycovers said opening,

the underside of said plate having a pair of depending locators whichare arcuate in horizontal section and are proportioned to fit justwithin the arcuate outer ends of opposite lobes of said cruciformopening and thereby align said plate portion to totally cover saidopening and prevent relative rotation of the installed cover,

said cover having a housing portion depending from the underside of saidplate portion and centrally located thereupon,

said housing having at least two opposed, horizontal bores,

each of said bores containing a rotatable ball detent and retainer meanslimiting the distance said ball detent can protrude from said bore,

seat means in each said bore in contact with a rear portion of each balldetent, and

spring means biasing said seat and ball detent to the protrudingposition,

said bores being located in said housing so that said ball detents in aninstalled cover latchingly engage the lower edge of the flush deckportion of the socket in a region thereof between adjacent lobes of thecruciform access opening,

whereby said removable cover is securely latched within said shipboardlashing socket and resists inadvertent removal.

2. A removable cover in accordance with claim 1 wherein the underside ofsaid plate portion is provided with a shallow peripheral groove whichlocates a gasket for creating a water-tight seal between said installedcover and the socket.

3. A removable cover in accordance with claim 2 wherein said plateportion is generally X-shaped and, at the junctions between the legs ofthe X, there are provided lifting access notches in the underside ofsaid plate portion, which notches are located between said shallowgroove and the outer peripheral edge of said plate portion.

1. A removable cover for a shipboard lashing socket having a flush deckportion wherein a generally cruciform access opening is provided havingfour lobes the outer ends of which are arcuate and having a bottomportion of generally bowl-like shape which is attached along itsperiphery to said deck portion, which cover comprises a plate portion ofdimension greater than said cruciform access opening which totallycovers said opening, the underside of said plate having a pair ofdepending locators which are arcuate in horizontal section and areproportioned to fit just within the arcuate outer ends of opposite lobesof said cruciform opening and thereby align said plate portion tototally cover said opening and prevent relative rotation of theinstalled cover, said cover having a housing portion depending from theunderside of said plate portion and centrally located thereupon, saidhousing having at least two opposed, horizontal bores, each of saidbores containing a rotatable ball detent and retainer means limiting thedistance said ball detent can protrude from said bore, seat means ineach said bore in contact with a rear portion of each ball detent, andspring means biasing said seat and ball detent to the protrudingposition, said bores being located in said housing so that said balldetents in an installed cover latchingly engage the lower Edge of theflush deck portion of the socket in a region thereof between adjacentlobes of the cruciform access opening, whereby said removable cover issecurely latched within said shipboard lashing socket and resistsinadvertent removal.
 2. A removable cover in accordance with claim 1wherein the underside of said plate portion is provided with a shallowperipheral groove which locates a gasket for creating a water-tight sealbetween said installed cover and the socket.
 3. A removable cover inaccordance with claim 2 wherein said plate portion is generally X-shapedand, at the junctions between the legs of the X, there are providedlifting access notches in the underside of said plate portion, whichnotches are located between said shallow groove and the outer peripheraledge of said plate portion.